Like cockroaches, rats or feral cats, human vermin -- disguised as restless teens -- sometimes infest a community. And like all those other pests, it can take months to root them out.

Unlike those pests, the droppings aren't as easy to clean up. They leave behind anger, suspicion and fear. Doors get locked. Neighborhood kids are no longer trusted. A town once perceived as "a nice place to live" becomes a place with "troubled teens."

This was the case in the Lake Hopatcong area of Jefferson Twp. over the summer, where police say an outrageous theft and vandalism crime spree was the work of local teens and their 20-year-old ringleader.

But what happened in Jefferson certainly isn't confined to Jefferson. A few years ago, it was White Meadow Lake in Rockaway, where a gang of teenagers went around slashing tires and breaking car windows. Then it was the Chathams, where dozens and dozens of mailboxes were smashed and playground equipment vandalized. In Bridgewater, a school nature preserve was wrecked and the birds in it were killed. Then the school was vandalized.

In each case, it went on for months, escalating in frequency and violence, and eventually unnerved the community. And in each case, the criminals -- which is what they are -- came from within.

"These are not kids that drove in from the highway," said Jefferson police Detective Joseph Kratzel, a lifelong town resident. "These are our kids. In most cases they lived right in the neighborhoods they targeted."

Two of the accused lived within 100 yards of a house near Lake Winona, where police say the gang broke in three times. The first time, they smashed a window and stole $120. The next time, they forced open a door and stole $50. The third time, finding no money, they trashed the house.

All the windows were broken out. The ceilings punched through. The carpet splattered with paint. A new TV was thrown down the stairs, smashing the bannister and balustrades. The refrigerator was toppled, a chest of drawers turned over, and clothing was shredded with a box cutter.

They painted "We want are (sic) money" on a stair wall.

In all, it was about $15,000 of damage, said Detective Sgt. John Kessler.

The Jefferson problems began last April with a series of daytime burglaries of unlocked cars and homes. Wallets, laptops, a little jewelry, whatever cash was laying around. After one such theft, police used a bloodhound to track Richard Keim, then 19, to his home.

"When he was arrested, he told us, 'You think this is going to stop by locking me up?'" said Lt. Eric Wilsusen. "Basically, he said he had a bunch of other kids working with him."

Keim was released on bail, and as the thefts continued all summer, people no longer felt trust in their community.

In the Lake Winona, Prospect Point and Peaks sections of Lake Hopatcong, people were on edge.

"I keep an eye out," said Bernard Kosak, a Winona Trail resident for 45 years. "A few weeks ago, I saw a couple of kids looking at (the neighbor's) boat. I went out to let them know I was watching, and they kept moving."

"Now we lock everything," said Susan Munier, whose husband's family has owned their Prospect Point home for 60 years. "It didn't used to be that way, but every day you heard about something else getting stolen. Cameras, GPS systems, laptops. Anything that was left in the car."

Or the car itself. A new GMC Envoy was stolen out of a driveway and, after a joyride, left with $15,000 of body dents. Police say the vandals grabbed a nearby pick-up truck and trashed that, too.

"It looked like they sideswiped it purposely into a tree or utility pole," said Kessler.

An 83-year-old man who lives alone had his car stolen and trashed.

"They used it in another burglary then drove it into the woods," said Kratzel. "They took boulders and threw them through the windows. They completely destroyed it. And what they did was take away that old guy's independence."

The victim didn't want to talk about it. "Please, I don't want any more trouble. I just want it to be over."

Keim was arrested again a couple of weeks ago with two juveniles in a stolen car, and now remains in jail. Two of the juveniles are also in custody. The crimes have stopped.

But some of the damage will never be undone.

Doors remain locked, local kids just walking around are looked at differently, and an old man now lives in fear, with his independence taken away.